Kravitz report card: Final grades sting

Jan. 12, 2014

New England Patriots Jamie Collins pressures Indianapolis Colts Andrew Luck in the first half. Indianapolis Colts lost to the New England Patriots 22-42 in their AFC playoff game Saturday, January 11, 2014, evening at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough,MA.

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Repeat after me: We are not a power running team. We are not a power running team. We are not a power running team. As much as Chuck Pagano and Pep Hamilton wish it was so, the Colts just arenít yet built to play the kind of grind-it-out football the brain trust so desires. Donald Brown had a productive season, but ran into walls against New England Saturday night. Heís worth bringing back as he enters free agency, but only at the right price, especially with Vick Ballard returning from injury. As for Trent Richardson, the less said, the better. The trade, which I loved at the time, has turned into a massive mistake. Ryan Grigson took a calculated risk that seemed to make perfect sense at the time, but Richardson simply lacks pop, impact and vision. He was invisible throughout the playoffs.

GRADE: F

RUN DEFENSE

Where have we seen this movie before? Colts get to playoffs. Colts get run off the field by a dominating back. Rinse and repeat. It could be Lamar Smith, or Eddie George, or Curtis Martin, or Corey Dillon. Or LeGarrette Blount, who scored four touchdowns, part of a night when the Pats scored six rushing touchdowns. The Colts desperately need to upgrade the defensive line. Is Josh Chapman the answer at nose guard? Not sure I know the answer just yet. They also need a lot more depth on the D-line. Everything the Colts want to do on defense is predicated on stopping the run, yet the Colts were routinely average, or worse, throughout the season. Indy probably wasted the best year of Robert Mathisí career.

GRADE: C

PASS OFFENSE

All things considered, the Colts did a strong job of re-calibrating their offense after a couple of games struggling without Reggie Wayne, but ultimately, his loss was one they could never fully surmount. Wayneís loss, coupled with the season-ending injury to Dwayne Allen, made the Colts offense far less dynamic the second half of the season. The Colts have a future star in T.Y. Hilton, but will need to find another receiver who can someday replace Wayne, who may or may not be the same when he returns this summer. Once again this year, Andrew Luck got hit far too often, including 10 QB hits against New England. The Donald Thomas loss was underrated in its importance; at times, rookie Hugh Thornton looked ill-equipped to handle the job at such a young age. Expect a couple of changes in the interior of the offensive line. Luck continued his maturation as a player and a leader, but for every jaw-dropping pass, there was a head-scratching interception. His time will come. Count on that.

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GRADE: B

PASS DEFENSE

Ordinarily, a loss to the New England Patriots means that Tom Brady eviscerated the opponentís secondary, but the Colts held him to 185 yards. That was largely because Brady didnít have to pass, the Patriots rushing for 234 yards. Brady was basically a game manager, making a couple of big plays to Julian Edelman and a back-breaking deep ball to Danny Amendola. The big off-season question is whether the Colts re-sign free agent Antoine Bethea. A good argument can be made both ways. Heís clearly one of this teamís veteran leaders, but heís got a lot of tread on his tires. That will be an interesting one to watch. Pretty sure Vontae Davis will be back. Thought LaRon Landry was very average this year, and Greg Toler was beset by a nagging groin injury that last almost two months.

GRADE: B-plus

SPECIAL TEAMS

Again, big decisions for Ryan Grigson: Do you keep Adam Vinatieri and Pat McAfee, and at what price? The pair give the Colts one of the best kicking/punting tandems in the league, but it will come down to dollars and cents. My hope is they keep both, but itís not my money. I liked Griff Whalen returning punts this year, but the Colts would be well-served to find someone who can consistently return kicks.

GRADE: D

COACHING

Twenty four hours later, Iím still baffled that Chuck Pagano didnít go for it with fourth-and-one at his own 29 yard line with 10:30 remaining and the Colts trailing by 21. Give him credit for owning up to the mistake, but thatís the kind of blunder that can get you beat in a closer game. My question now is whether the Colts are wedded to defensive coordinator Greg Manusky, although this is really Paganoís defense. The defense was the biggest, most surprising disappointment of the season. They never got hit by the injury bug the way the offense did, and still failed to produce when it mattered most. Thereís no way to sugar-coat 87 points in two playoff games. If Iím Grigson, Iím looking at a very un-sexy draft filled with O linemen and defensive lineman, maybe an inside linebacker.

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GRADE: D

INTANGIBLES

The Colts knew what they needed to do: Limit the turnovers. Stop the run. Get off the field on third down. And they did none of those things. The Patriots were 11 of 18 on third downs, largely because the running game gave Brady a steady diet of third-and-3ís. Indyís time is coming; it would surprise me if Luck didnít lead the Colts to a Super Bowl sometime in the next three or four years. But the talent just isnít here yet. Grigson tried to do it on a budget his first year and spent significant money his second, but the draft is the way to have enduring success. This yearís draft class was very unproductive; only Thornton and Bjoern Werner played, and neither one made a major impact. Two or three good drafts, and the Colts will be in business. Probably. The Dopey Report Card bids you adieu.

Bob Kravitz is a columnist for The Indianapolis Star. Call him at (317) 444-6643 or email bob.kravitz@indystar.com. Follow him on Twitter: @BKravitz.